U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood won re-election for a seventh term in Washington, fending off a challenge from a political newcomer who benefitted from Republican unrest but could not overcome a political map that heavily favors the incumbent.
With 60% of votes tallied, the Associated Press announced LaHood, R-Dunlap, had defeated Paul Nolley by a 17-point margin to win in the 16th Congressional District.
LaHood, the former federal prosecutor who was first elected to Congress in 2015, said he plans to work for everyone in his district, including those who did not vote for him.
“Well, we did it, we won tonight,” he told supporters gathered at Lariat Steakhouse in Peoria. “I am deeply honored and humbled to have the support in this room. You’re only as strong as the team around you.”
Nolley, a lifelong Rockford resident who has worked for various nonprofits and advocated for union workers, sought to cast LaHood as a rubber-stamp for an unpopular president. Nolley criticized LaHood for supporting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and not supporting votes to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran.
LaHood, who cast six ‘no’ votes during roll call to end U.S. interventions in Iran, said the measure was largely symbolic and that he has suggested that he wants President Trump to wind down the war.
LaHood said he wanted local governments to set policy on data centers, while Nolley said the federal government should take the lead.
Nolley has slammed LaHood for not hosting in-person town-hall meetings. LaHood has opted for telephone town halls instead, saying they are safer.
LaHood has also touted the funding he’s brought back to the district, including $4 million for the Trillium Mental health in Peoria and $550,000 for the Bloomington Police Department’s real time crime data center — while also criticizing Congress growing the national debt, which has topped $40.5 billion.
LaHood ran and won an uncontested race in 2024 and beat Democratic challengers in 2022 and 2020 by staggering margins.
“Every election is different, and I learned a long time ago never to become complacent with an election,” he said. “You always have to be attentive to your district. I tell my staff all the time I have 750,000 bosses. Those are the people that I work for every single day.”
The 16th District includes parts of Bloomington-Normal, Peoria and mostly rural areas across north-central Illinois, stretching all the way to the Iowa and Wisconsin borders.
The Cook Political Report in 2025, gave Republicans an 11-point advantage in the district that Illinois Democrats redrew to grow their majority in the Illinois Congressional delegation. The move prompted U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, to not seek re-election in 2022.